Help!!!

[mermaidpolo]

So I just bought a used PC (Dell Dimension 5100) and got it all nice and set up and everything. It was performing smoothly with the exception of running games. Some applications also seemed laggy and slow(even web browsing in some instances seemed laggy when I scrolled up and down.) So I went to the video card settings and opted to "not use this device".....Whoops...

Upon restarting I found out that after the initial bootup the screen just stayed grey. I saw the Dell and Windows XP logos, but after that...nothing. I can hear that windows startup noise and it seems that my computer is working fine I just have no display. The monitor also seems fine.

I also just bought another video card (ATI X1550) to replace the other one and just put it in. I don't know what make or model the orginal video card is, but it looks older and outdated. So right now I have 2 video cards installed. The ATI is in the PCI slot, and the original is in the AGP(is that what its called???)

I'm just trying to get it back running again. I dont want to have to take it in and spend money I don't have.

I'm sorry if I'm not being clear or giving enough information, but I'd like to get this working ASAP. So if you need me to provide more information or need something else from me to correctly diagnose the problem, then please ask.

Btw. Im a girl and dont know very much about computers...

 

[Rudster8161]

easy fix, right before the xp boot screen is about to come up, start tapping F8 and a menu should come up with things like
"Safe Mode"
"Safe Mode with Networking"
"Safe Mode with Command Prompt"
etc.

you should see one thats says
"Last Know Good Configuration"

use your arrow keys to select it and press enter, and see if it boots up. if not, try going into safe mode and changing the setting you changed back to normal.

 

[mermaidpolo]

Okay. So I was able to get into the menu by pressing F8. The bad news is that I tried both of those options and both did not work. The "Last Known Good Config..." just did the same thing that its been doing all along(it booted up, but im just getting the same ol' grey screen). When I tried to acess via safe mode it just listed a bunch of drivers and seemed to freeze up (I waited 5 mins too).

Any other suggestions?

 

[Celegorm]

on the same screen Rudster brought you too, you should see something like "enable VGA mode" That usually fixes this when I disable my Video card.

You can also try setting your BIOS to look and see if there is a way to use your new PCI card instead of the AGP (Yes, you did get that right) as the main video device. Plug your monitor in there and see if that helps.

 

[mermaidpolo]

VGA mode did not work. It is just bringing me to the same grey screen. I can tell its getting me to the desktop though, its just that I cant see anything. I plugged my monitor into the different slots. When I plug into the AGP the monitor shows all black, but with the PCI its the grey screen thingy.

Agh...